Perno,
Le Langhe, Italy November 11, 2006 Our great winemaker friend
Mario Fontana has entertained us often at his Cascina Fontana winery
and home at Perno, high in the Barolo hills of Le Langhe. Mario's mother
Elda is a truly wonderful cook who still knows how faithfully to prepare
the traditional foods of Le Langhe. Here she gives us a masterclass
in how to prepare handmade agnolotti al plin - the tiny stuffed
ravioli that are the speciality of the region. The recipe may seem rather
complicated and fiddly, but it isn't. It is time consuming and laborious,
though, as are most great traditional foods. However, many hands make
light work, as the saying goes, so get together with friends, open a
bottle or two of Cascina Fontana wines, and have an agnolotti al
plin party!

10-11
eggs
About 1 kg flour (in general the measurement is 1 egg for every 100
g of flour – some cooks measure an egg to a fistful of flour –
but of course the precise proportions depend on the size of eggs, the
moisture content of the flour and other such variables)
Pinch of salt
A spoonful or two of olive oil
Water if necessary.

First
make the stuffing. Add the escarole or spinach, cabbage and carrots
to a pot of boiling water and cook until tender. Drain and then sautée
in a frying with olive oil and a chopped clove of garlic. Set aside.

Vegetables
for the ripieno

In
a separate heavy-bottomed cast-iron or earthenware pot, add some olive
oil, then brown the pieces of veal, pork and chicken breast. Add the
2 carrots, a stick of celery, a clove of garlic and a sprig of rosemary.
Add the white wine, bring to the boil, then cover tightly and reduce
to a bare simmer. Cook until the meat is tender and falling apart, adding
more liquid if necessary.

Cooking
the meats

Finally
chop the sautéed vegetables and meat all together, adding a little
of the cooking liquid from the meats, as well as the cooked ham and
mortadella.The result should be a soft filling that you can use to stuff
the agnolotti. Just before filling, add the beaten eggs, grated parmigiano
reggiano, freshly grated nutmeg and salt to taste.

The
ripieno

Now
make the pasta. You can make this either by hand, or in a food processor
(our method). Depending on the size of your food processor, add the
flour and the eggs in batches if necessary. Or else place the flour
on a large board, make a well, and add the eggs. Add a spoonful or two
of extra-virgin olive oil, a little water if necessary, and a pinch
of salt. Mix well to form a dough that is soft but consistent. Knead
well, then leave to rest at room temperature for about an hour.

Making
fresh pasta

Next
roll out the pasta to the second finest setting on your pasta machine.

Pasta
machines make the job easier though some cooks still prefer to roll
by hand

Lay
out the sheets of rolled pasta. Using a spoon and a knife, add small
amounts of the filling all along the length of each sheet of pasta.

Filling
the agnolotti

Fold
the pasta over the filling carefully in order to cover all the filling.
Then, and this is the critical part!, squeeze the space between each
raviolo using your thumb and index fingers as if you were giving
the pasta a 'pinch' (in Piedmontese dialect they say 'plin'
and this gives the name agnolotti or ravioli 'al plin').

Folding
and pinching 'al plin'

Cut
along the strip of now-stuffed pasta, then cut between each single
agnolotto to separate.

Cutting
the agnolotti

The
finished agnolotti

Put
the cut agnolotti on a large floured platter and make sure
there is plenty of space so they don't stick together.

All
that is left now is to cook the agnolotti when ready to eat.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add salt, then add the agnolotti.
They will cook in only the briefest time, just a minute or two (when
they rise to the surface, they are done).

The
agnolotti al plin can be served 'in brodo' that is,
in a rich homemade chicken or beef broth, or else they can be bathed
in melted butter and fresh sage, topped with grated parmigiano reggiano.
For the Club
Vino visit to Cascina Fontana, we enjoyed this exquisite dish topped
with shavings of fresh summer truffles - tartufi estivi. Another
way to enjoy the agnolotti is served with a meat ragù.

As
the above steps demonstrate, making agnolotti is a time consuming
affair, so Elda advises that it is best done with a group of friends,
perhaps a day or two in advance of an important meal.